In a printer of performing printing by applying heat to an ink ribbon tape through a print head, a printing part of the ink ribbon tape, to which the heat has been applied, is extended or retracted, and a difference occurs in tension between the printing part and a non-printing part.
The tension of the ink ribbon tape is partially changed, so that a problem of printing omission and the like may occur when wrinkles are generated in the ink ribbon tape. Therefore, there has been proposed a technology for absorbing partial fluctuation of the tension applied to the ink ribbon tape by dividing stress acting in a width direction of the ink ribbon tape, thereby suppressing the generation of the wrinkles (for example, see JP-A-H09-66653). Furthermore, there has been proposed a technology for forming a spiral convex portion or groove portion in a guide roller that conveys an ink ribbon tape, thereby suppressing the generation of wrinkles (for example, see JP-U-S61-128053).